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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29718156">Grinding</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ononymous/pseuds/Ononymous'>Ononymous</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Undertale (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Underswap (Undertale), Gen, Pre-Undertale, Pre-Undertale Pacifist Route, Underswap Alphys (Undertale), Underswap Toriel (Undertale)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 06:53:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,872</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29718156</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ononymous/pseuds/Ononymous</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Oh. <em>You.</em> Well, sit down then. Want a soda? I've got plenty."</p>
<p>"I <strong>said</strong> sit down! Use my axe to point to what you want. You get up at your own risk. The risk of me running you over with a steamroller!"</p>
<p>"Oh, that <em>Mew Mew</em> show? Yeah, I think it's good. Kinda wears down later on. I showed the Royal Scientist, but I think she only watched to be polite. Oh well, more for me!"</p>
<p>"Those blueprints? Oh yeah, she came round to show me. I like all the firepower she's attached to it. I wasn't sure, but I think there might be a circuitry problem. Eh, she'll fix it, she always does. Even if it takes her a month she never gives up on a project."</p>
<p>"You're pretty polite, thanking me for the drink. Saying 'greetings' when I opened the door. Not that it's a bad thing, you just remind me of Toriel a little. You know, my boss."</p>
<p>"Huh? My scar? Funny you should ask, it ties into when I first met the Queen..."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alphys &amp; Toriel (Undertale)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Grinding</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Birdsong rang through the cavernous room. Its volume denoted how close the birds were, perhaps perched on the edge of the holes allowing sunlight through, but the peculiar metallic tone of their echoes was a subtle clue to what kept them away from this place. The sunlight indeed shone down in several patches, on orange chequered tiles that looked ancient but well cared for. On yellow walls clear save for purple banners with an emblem of wings above three triangles. And on a patch of wild flowers near the back of the room, thriving despite their hostile planting area, but unable to spread without due care and attention. A single flower bloomed the brightest, taller than its brethren, and never suffering from being over-watered like those around it did.</p>
<p>The sun also reached the center of the room, where two large ornate chairs stood still. The larger one looked pristine, like it had never been sat in. This was not true, it had just been so long since it had, and had been cleaned so meticulously in the meantime that signs of wear and tear had counter-intuitively faded. The slightly smaller chair had an occupant. Spectacled copper-red eyes were engrossed in a book, while three or four others stood atop a small table next to the throne. Setting aside the occupant's white fur, short horns and long floppy ears, she had the air of someone unconcerned with anything beyond the next punchline in the jokebook she was reading. Two things undermined this benign appearance: The small crown with a large pearl upon her head; and the polished metal plates upon the purple leather armour she wore, the best combination of protection and mobility. Her stance didn't suggest any kind of hostility, but she was always ready. She turned the page.</p>
<p>"Hey!"</p>
<p>The Queen looked up from her reading. A small yellow lizard, clearly young, stood halfway between the throne and the doors. Dressed in blue trousers and a black vest, she stood unusually straight, in a posture she clearly did not regularly assume. It was supposed to look tough. An observer might have called it childish. Her eyes were narrowed in a glare. Or perhaps a squint, like she had trouble focusing.</p>
<p>"Greetings, little one," said Toriel, smiling. "What may I help you with?"</p>
<p>The lizard shifted her stance. Something long, dark and slender peeked over her shoulder. "I'm Alphys!"</p>
<p>"I see." She continued to smile, as her head tilted in curiosity. "Well, is there something I may do for you, Alphys?"</p>
<p>"Yeah... I w-want you to f-fight me!"</p>
<p>As a follow up to the challenge, Alphys reached for the thing peaking behind her shoulder. An oversized axe now rested in one hand, at an awkward angle to strike. Its lack of sheen in the stray sunbeam betrayed the fact it was plastic, a toy.</p>
<p>"...no." Toriel returned to her reading, smile gone. Her would-be vanquisher stood in silence for a moment.</p>
<p>"Did y-you hear me?" Cried Alphys. "Let's fight!"</p>
<p>"Perfectly," said Toriel, not looking up, "and I refuse. If that is all you came here to do, then I must bid you leave."</p>
<p>Alphys took a step forward, her scaly face flushing orange. "I'm n-n-not going anywhere!"</p>
<p>"So I noticed," said Toriel, growing cold. "Do you wish me to have a guard show you out?"</p>
<p>Alphys' whole body grew rigid. Except her mouth. "Like I thought, y-you'd rather just sit on your b-b-b-butt reading about... about egg yolks than do anything yourself!"</p>
<p>The sound of Toriel turning the page cut through the air like a knife. Yet something about Alphys' accusation caught her attention. "I see you understand nothing about my duties, and that you have no desire to do so. Choose your next action wisely. The next word I speak shall be 'Guards'."</p>
<p>As she read a long joke about a skeleton, a snail and a water balloon at a wedding, she heard tiny footsteps gradually soften. Concluding her foe was showing the better part of valour, she reached for the flask of coffee on the table with books.</p>
<p>"...yaaaaaaa<em>AAAAA<strong>AAGH!!!</strong></em>"</p>
<p>From where she had backed up, Alphys sprinted at full speed across the tiles, axe raised overhead. Within three seconds she approached striking range, the axe beginning to swing downwards. Toriel had just grabbed the flask.</p>
<p>
  <em>FWOOSH.</em>
</p>
<p>A bolt of flame appeared around the dull blade of the axe, stopping its plummet dead in its tracks. Though magic like this normally disregarded having an equal and opposite reaction, Toriel had long ago learned the benefits of it, and sure enough the recoil caused the axe to bounce out of her hands and clatter on the floor. Thrown off balance herself, Alphys squashed her tail falling backwards.</p>
<p>"Ungh! H-huh?!"</p>
<p>"..." Toriel took a drink of her coffee, put it back on the table and continued reading as though there had been no interruption.</p>
<p>A child who has been told 'no', or even physically demonstrated 'no', inevitably moves on to 'why?', and Alphys was no exception. Picking herself up and retrieving her weapon, she approached the queen once again, though not as reckless. Toriel felt her gaze examining the thrones.</p>
<p>"Yagh!"</p>
<p>Standing near the book table, Alphys suddenly swung with the axe again. Once more a fiery barrier materialised and halted the strike. Ready for this possibility however, this time Alphys kept both her balance and her weapon.</p>
<p>"C-clever," she said. "Verrrry clever..."</p>
<p>Toriel turned another page, sensing as Alphys circled the thrones. Instead of another attack, Alphys reached out with a clawed hand. A field of invisible warmth tickled her fingers, but the slow movement was not halted. She was able to reach out and touch the larger throne, feel its velvet lining. Growing more confident, she gradually stepped inside Toriel's invisible barrier, and clambered onto the empty chair. Toriel looked up from her book at this, seeing Alphys' claws dig into the fabric, and her disinterest soon became a stern look.</p>
<p>"Ah-ha!" Alphys raised her axe for a third time.</p>
<p>
  <em>FWOOSH.</em>
</p>
<p>Alphys found herself on her back, several feet from the Queen. Toriel had not directly reacted to the attack, but the barrier she protected herself with needed no such prompting. She didn't immediately return to her book this time. Instead she watched her opponent regroup once again and approach the threshold. This time Alphys tried hitting the same spot repeatedly, but the flames denied her weapon entry. Then she circled Toriel again, probing the barrier for weakness. Sometimes with a single strike, sometimes by trailing her axe along the threshold of the barrier, leaving streaks of flame that hovered in the air a moment. By the time she'd gone around the third time, Toriel had started reading again, an amused smirk playing on her lips.</p>
<p>"No w-weaknesses," Alphys concluded. "I guess it's like Old Man Gerson said. Humans use d-determination, but monsters don't h-have enough. Magic has to beat magic."</p>
<p>The words captured Toriel's attention, but so did the <em>BZZT</em> noise and the new source of light. She looked up to see Alphys hold out her axe like a flag, sparks of electricity wrapping themselves around the head as her face screwed up in concentration. For the first time the Queen tensed, though remained in her seat.</p>
<p>"Yagh!"</p>
<p>The electrified blade struck flame once again, but this time wasn't bounced back. Alphys quickly withdrew and struck again.</p>
<p>"Yagh! Yagh! <strong>YAGH!</strong>"</p>
<p>Her fourth strike had done it. The axe head finally sunk beyond the flames, though with enough resistance to deflect where she had been swinging. It hit the book table, knocking <em>72 Facts About Snails</em> to the ground."</p>
<p>"H-ha! See, you aren't s-so tough! Let's-"</p>
<p>A loud snap announced the jokebook being closed. Toriel tucked her glasses into a pocket on her chestplate and stood up at last. Alphys stepped back, expecting to finally do true battle. Instead, the Queen just looked at her, with an uncertain expression on her face, and then began walking towards the door. Remembering the threat of calling for guards, the young child pressed the advantage she thought she had.</p>
<p>"Gonna f-flee? Coward! I b-bet the King wouldn't have f-fled."</p>
<p>Toriel quickened her pace at the taunt. Time extremely short, Alphys renewed her assault. Though her electrical magic was able to at least penetrate the royal protections, those protections made it almost impossible to keep her swings straight. But she didn't give up, and every swing grew closer.</p>
<p>"And- H-he'd- Have- Gotten- The- Souls- Already!"</p>
<p>Toriel stopped as Alphys lined up her next swing. She'd been walking, so she herself bumped into Toriel, the barrier weakened from shock, but the magnified momentum of her axe swing bounced harmlessly off Toriel's metal backplate as Alphys fell backwards once again, her axe following close behind.</p>
<p>"Agh!"</p>
<p>The axe clattered to the floor again. A stinging pain started above her left eye, forcing her to close it reflexively. She looked up as Toriel finished turning back, a scowl now on her face, while her eyes were shifting rapidly, probably towards anger to match her mouth. Satisfied that she looked ready to fight at last, Alphys grabbed her axe and-</p>
<p>A purple blur, tipped with white wrenched the weapon out of her hand, and she watched it fly across the throne room. The moment's distraction cost her, and she found herself scooped up in a single arm of the queen. Alphys had barely blinked, and her opponent had neutralised her. But her preconceptions refused to admit defeat.</p>
<p>"HEY! Lemme go lemme go <em>lemme go-</em>"</p>
<p>She heard Toriel shout something, probably making good on her threat to call the guards, but Alphys was too busy struggling to listen. Instead she felt Toriel's other hand hold her wriggling head still. Something both warm and comforting, yet cool and soothing, flowed through her head. It calmed her enough to stop struggling, and indeed she continued to look straight up at Toriel as the large paw withdrew. Any sign of fury was gone, replaced with clear worry that was already shifting to relief. Alphys also realised the stinging pain was gone.</p>
<p>"My goodness!" said Toriel, smiling for the first time since Alphys challenged her. "That was a nasty cut you gave yourself, my child. I believe I got to it in time, there should be no scarring."</p>
<p>Toriel put Alphys down, and her words made Alphys feel where her axe had struck. Its contours felt no different, a sign of Toriel's healing magic, but it was wet. She looked at her fingers, dipped in something red.</p>
<p>"...a s-scar would look cool..." Alphys insisted.</p>
<p>"Let us get you cleaned up," continued Toriel. "You may have some pie as well."</p>
<p>Twenty minutes later, the Queen's new promise was fulfilled. Alphys, freshly washed face, sat in the Royal living room, awkwardly nibbling at a large slice of cinnamon-butterscotch pie with whipped cream, unsure how it had come to this. She also had no clue to deal with hospitality from one she had tried to attack. The milk from a cup with a purple 'A' painted on it helped wash it down, however. Toriel finished her own slice along with what was left of her coffee.</p>
<p>"I think you know what I am about to ask you, Alphys," said the Queen.</p>
<p>"...yeah." Alphys gripped the cup in her hands. "'W-why did you attack me?'"</p>
<p>Toriel smiled. "Actually, I wanted to know why you thought I was reading about yolks."</p>
<p>She pushed the book across the table, and Alphys squinted at the cover. "...oh, <em>Jokes</em>. M-my mistake."</p>
<p>"...my child, do you need glasses?"</p>
<p>"No!" A keen look Alphys squinted to see. "...yes. They kept falling off when I p-practised with my axe."</p>
<p>"And that leads me to my next question. This time I do wish to know what grievance you have with me that it needed such direct confrontation."</p>
<p>Alphys' eyes, already beady from her continual squinting, began to water. "B-because... because nothing. I j-just wanted to make a name for myself."</p>
<p>A part of Toriel that had been bricked up for a long time was opened up by force. "...you feel alone? You are worried about friends?"</p>
<p>"...I d-dunno. I mean, they ask f-for help with homework after s-school, and I can do that, b-but is that all I'm good for? M-my brain? There are other ways to help out, I've r-read about them in books in the garbage heap, so I d-decided. 'Go big or go home', you know? Guess I'm going home. Couldn't l-lay a finger on you."</p>
<p>"Well... do you still wish to 'Go Big'?"</p>
<p>Alphys, who had taken another drink of milk, spluttered. Then she squeaked as she grabbed a napkin Toriel had served with the pie to try and clean up the resulting spill. The Queen smiled at the accidental panic, but the smile did not reach her eyes.</p>
<p>"Y-y-you m-m-mean... t-t-train with the g-g-guard?"</p>
<p>"With me. Personally. I daresay you could pick up my own tricks better than most. You are a very perceptive person, Alphys. Shrewd. I am sure you could do well in whatever you choose. But your use of your mind in battle is something I have not seen in a long time. And on that note, I must apologise."</p>
<p>"For what?"</p>
<p>"Earlier I accused you of understanding nothing of the Queen's Duties. But what you said as you provoked me... I was mistaken. You understand better than most."</p>
<p>The soggy napkin began to dissolve on the plate next to the pie. From across the table Alphys could not make out Toriel's eyes clearly. She didn't need to.</p>
<p>"...yeah. I was just t-talking smack. It's o-obvious when you stop and look and th-think about it. What you do to them... To yourself... It's like p-poison."</p>
<p>"Like buttercups," she agreed. "And it is a mere prologue. When the time comes..."</p>
<p>Alphys didn't need glasses to notice Toriel's posture sag. The silence contained the hows and whys of a debate around the war that went unspoken. But the Queen sat upright again, and Alphys noticed her dab the corner of an eye.</p>
<p>"It is not just physical danger the guard may experience," she continued, "you risk poisoning yourself just as I have. Few really consider this reality of service until it is upon them. But you have, have you not?" Alphys nodded slowly. "And yet you would do it, if the duty fell to you?"</p>
<p>"...I think I would," replied Alphys, slowly to make herself clear. "But then, kids around Waterfall always brag about what they're gonna do, and then when the chance comes they don't do it. Maybe I'm like that."</p>
<p>"Most astute," said Toriel, smiling once again. "But I think what lies in you lies in me as well. To know what an action will cost, and pay that price with open eyes regardless, because the alternative is worse. It is how I have led us since..." She looked over to a picture Alphys couldn't make out, but then back to Alphys. "Well? Shall you accept my tutelage?"</p>
<p>For a moment Alphys' scales grew pale. But then she stood up in the chair. "Heck yeah!"</p>
<p>Toriel rose from her chair, walked over so Alphys could make her out clearly for the first time in minutes, and gently patted her scaly head. "Then welcome, young Alphys. May you work hard and learn well. Goodness, there will be many things to learn. I shall have to draw up a <em>lizzt</em>." Alphys frowned in confusion, before Toriel started chuckling. "Oh, hee hee hee, it has been too long! Now then, Captain Rovie?"</p>
<p>The door to Toriel's house opened at her call, and an aging dog in the dark armour of a Royal Captain marched in and snapped a salute. "Majesty?"</p>
<p>"Please take this child to her home in Waterfall," said Toriel. "And be ready to collect her from there tomorrow for basic guard induction." She glanced at the beady eyes on Alphys' beaming face. "Actually first, take her to Doctor Cap to get fitted out for contact lenses."</p><hr/>
<p>"You know, I was a pretty shy kid. I'd read a lot rather than hang out with others. A whole bunch of stories about shy kids like me finding their true selves. To find my own true self, I challenged Toriel to a fight. She ignored me, but I didn't let that stop me. What <em>did</em> stop me was not getting close enough to actually fight. She'd hardly moved at all, wasn't even trying! And after I'd fallen on my tail a few times, she gave me a snack, and offered to train me. Well of course I said yes! It wasn't just combat though. I think she must've always wanted to be a teacher or something, because after practice I'd sit in her house as we read about stuff. Math and History and things like that. She even gave me speech lessons. I had the dorkiest stutter back then. But it wasn't all nerd stuff - the nerd stuff was interesting, though - we actually did practice combat. That's how I got this scar over my eye. Let my guard down at the wrong time. Looks cool, huh?"</p>
<p>
  <span class="determination">*I notice the box of movie special effect makeup on top of the fridge.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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